Writings on Politics, Economics and History

Why Edward Snowden is Only the Begining

Institutions need to evolve. “Spy Kids” by Charles Stross explains how the US created a bureaucratic culture that impedes that evolution. “We fool ourselves into thinking that our national culture is static and slow moving,” writes Stross. He argues that the government, specifically the security agencies, are designed for a culture of long term employment–Unfortunately that clearly doesn’t exist anymore. Longterm employment begets loyalty, but through a combination of temp workers and outsourcing nearly every aspect of our society has changed, and security work is no exception. Snowden didn’t collect a paycheck from the NSA; he got one from Booz Allen. The only loyalty he had was to an ideal of nationalism, one that he viewed the very programs he exposed violated.

“If I were in charge of long-term planning for human resources in any government department, I’d be panicking,” he concluded, “Even though it’s already too late.”